Bajrang eyes Indian support at Madison Square Garden

New Delhi, May 1: World no. 1 Bajrang Punia has requested the Indian diaspora in New York to come to the Madison Square Garden as the wrestler is all set to become the first Indian to fight at the iconic place.

Bajrang, who was nominated by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Tuesday, took to micro-blogging website Twitter and requested the Indians to come in big numbers on May 6 when he will take on two-time US national champion Yianni Diakomahlis in the 'Grapple at the Garden' Beat the Streets event.

"I want to request all Indians and wrestling lovers in New York to come to Madison Square Garden on May 6 to encourage me. I am the first Indian to be invited by the American Wrestling Association to fight at Madison Square Garden," Bajrang tweeted.

"Jai Hind, Jai Bharat," he added.

Bajrang, who recently won the 65 kg men's freestyle gold at the Asian Boxing Championships in China, is one of the top wrestlers selected by the American governing body for the tournament.